Bonhams' December Sale results

By: Brian Rabold

The Bonhams “December Sale,” held Dec. 1 at Brooklands’ Mercedes-Benz World, closed out the company’s 2011 efforts with $4.8 million in motor car and cycle sales. In all, 37 of the 68 automotive lots offered traded, resulting in a 54% sell-through rate. The mean sale was $70,827, while the median sale was $20,725.

Top earner for the event was a 1953 Austin-Healey 100 Special Test car that had exceptional race history, most notably an entry into the tragic 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans where it was directly involved in that race’s famed disaster. The car sold for $1.32 million, including buyer's premium.

Other top sales include a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 coupe that sold for $424,684, a 1990 Ferrari F40 with only 200 km on a fresh restoration that achieved $338,494, and a 1937 Bentley 4¼-Litre all-weather tourer that earned $212,655. Meanwhile, a heavily publicized and meticulous recreation of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car failed to reach its $125,000 low estimate.

Bonhams’ next British automotive auction will be in Oxford on March 3, while U.S. operations will resume with the the firm’s first foray into Arizona on Jan. 19.